Enviromental Benefits of the Swenson Center

High quality indoor air environment is appreciated by the students, faculty and staff and produces a great learning environment.

With windows and glass walls in the lobbies providing natural daylighting for94% of the building spaces, the Swenson Center is a remarkably light and bright place to be, even on a rainy day.

An existing developed site on the campus was repurposed to the building, resulting in more landscaping and open paved gathering space than previously available in this area.

The building occupants enjoy increased thermal comfort, including the ability to open their windows, and control the temperature in their individual offices within a preset 4˚ band.

The building makes use of the free night-time cooling available in Thousand Oaks to control the temperature in the unconditioned hallways and lobbies. Sensors compare the indoor and outdoor temperatures, and the building energy management system opens motorized windows in the lobbies and activates clerestory exhaust fans to pull cool night-time air into the building and exhaust the hot air out of the building.

The highly reflective “cool roof” and reflective hardscaping reduces the building’s impact on the local microclimate by decreasing the urban “heat island” effect.

In total, the building's electricity usage is reduced by approximately 24% due to the use of higher efficiency heating units and building lighting controls. The use of high efficiency HVAC units and water heaters is projected to result in natural gas consumption savings of approximately 53%.

Lighting control systems installed in the building use photocells to turn selected lights off when there is adequate natural daylight, saving energy. Room and area occupancy sensors turn the lights off when an area is unoccupied, resulting in additional savings.

The building saves approximately 90,000 gallons of water per year by using dual-flush toilets, one-pint urinals, and low flow faucets.

Each office in the Swenson Center has desk-side recycling, and each building occupant practices source separation. Centralized separate trash and recycle collection containers are located around the building.

Use of electric hand dryers in the restrooms dramatically reduces the paper product consumption and volume of waste generated by the building.

CLU has a long-time no-smoking policy in buildings, and prohibits smoking within 25 ft. of the Swenson Center building entrances and air intakes, ensuring air quality inside the building and promoting individual health.

Cleaning products used in the building are healthier than traditional chemical cleaners.